Decieving friendships
by hpobsessor10
Summary: When a young witch offers to get information from dumbledore's wouldhavebeen murderer, feelings for him arise, and she must choose between her love and her friends.....
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

It was very unexpected, the way it happened. She was sitting at home one night, when she heard a loud crack. Scared, she jumped up to see what had happened. She walked through the entire house, and saw nothing. When she returned to her room however, there was a group of four people standing there, whispering to one another.

"Um, excuse me. Who are you, and why are you in my room? Furthermore, _how_ did you _get_ in my room?" the smallest of the group, apparently a girl, answered her.

"Hello. Sorry to frighten you, but that was our only means of transportation. It isn't a very polite way, but it was the quickest." Then, another girl, not much bigger than the first spoke up.

"Yes, we're terribly sorry about that, but we have some very important news for you, and it was urgent that we got to you as quickly as possible." At this, the girl was getting angry, they hadn't answered her questions, and she just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Well that's nice, but that doesn't explain who you are, and, hold on, let me turn on a light…AAAH! I know you! But, is it possible, I thought that it was just a book, how could it be that you're all standing right in front of me? And you look so much like the actors…yes, that's it, you're the actors. Of course! Oh, sorry, what was it that you need to tell me?" the tallest boy then stepped up to her, and she looked at him as though she was going to faint.

"Ok, firstly, calm down. _No_, we are _not_ the actors, well actually, we are, but the director doesn't know that, and yes, we are real. There's not really a way to explain it, but the author, well, she didn't realize that observing us, and then writing about it, would become such a big deal. It's really hard to explain, but maybe we should start at the beginning. My name is Harry, and these are-"

"I _know_ who they are, but why are you here, in my room?" her head was spinning. She just couldn't believe that after all those years of thinking that they were just fictional characters, they were real! The tall boy pushed back his hair and sat down. There it was! She could see the scar!

"Ok, now that we know who everyone is, there is something very important we need to tell you. You may want to sit down."

What is it that they need to tell her? And is it possible that Harry Potter was actually REAL, and standing in her bedroom? Read on to find out. Also, the rest of the chapters will be in her point of view


	2. life changing news

CHAPTER TWO 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing; there was no way that I wasn't dreaming. What would bring these people that claimed to be witches and wizards (as if) to my house? I had to be having a very detailed dream or something, because this was just too unreal. I couldn't keep my curiosity in any longer, but I didn't know what to say. Luckily, I didn't have to.

"Alright, we don't want you to be alarmed, but we've come here to tell you that there are beliefs in our world that you are a witch. We were sent here to ask you to join us at Hogwarts, and to seek your help fighting Voldemort. I know this is very, well, strange, but there are a lot of things that we just can't tell you until we find out if you really _are_ a witch or not." The girl that _claimed_ to be Hermione had said this all very fast, and nervously, as though someone would hear her that wasn't supposed to.

"So basically, you _think_ I'm a witch, but you don't know for sure? How is that, I mean, I thought that the Ministry knew who had, well, _powers_, or whatever, when they were _born_? So then, there must be a mistake; I'm already 14 years old! I have to be dreaming!"

"Yes, that's what we think. But the only way to know for sure is to have you try to do a spell with one of our wands. And the Ministry has had so much going on, and it's really their fault because if they'd listened to Dumbledore before it was too late; but the point is, that they overlooked your powers until now, and it just so happens that _now_ its when we need your help. And if you aren't too attached to this place, we are here to invite you to Hogwarts to complete the rest of the time there, if you're advanced enough."

"Ok, so if I do a spell, and it…it _works_, then what, I get to come to Hogwarts and be like, the youngest first year ever? Umm, _no_! I think I'll pass, do you know how embarrassing that would be? I'd be surrounded by a bunch of eleven-year-olds, and-" but I didn't get to finish my sentence, because for the first time all night, Ron spoke up.

"No, you'll be able to start in your fourth year, as though you'd been there since what would have been your first year. I think it's an excellent idea myself, and it would have been nice if I could have skipped three years, oh well. So, are you going to try?" I had to think. What would I tell everyone? I couldn't just come out and say 'guess what! I'm a witch!' but what choice did I have?

"Alright, I'll try, but that doesn't mean that it will work. And another thing, how am I going to know what House I'm in? There's no way that I'm going to get up in front of the school and be sorted now, I mean, at this age."

So, how do you like it so far? Please review it, and tell me what you think. Should I keep it going? Also, if you have any ideas for further chapters, let me know, and I might consider them, though I already have most of them planned


	3. planning the plan

CHAPTER THREE

thanks for the reviews! and Miss Extraordinary, you had a good point about desribing her. there isn't really a place to do it in the story, so i'll do it here. ok, her name is beth. she is about 5'4, and has shoulderlength hair that is carmel brown, with platinum blonde highlights. hahaha, i just totally made that up! i'm so good at this! lol, anyways, and she hs blue eyes that have a hint of gray in them. haha, just made that up too! so cool! and also, it's important to have her help fight voldemort because she read the hp books, and saw the movies, but always thought that they were fake. but then she found out that she's a witch, and because she knows just as much as harry, ron, hermione, and ginny, it's crucial for her to help them. i think that it'll be explained a little bit more in future chapters, especially when they return to hogwarts. so please keep reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:**hpobsessor wishes to inform you that though she would love to, she doesn't own harry potter or its affiliates, and it shall remain that way for eternity tear tear

I tried out a few simple spells on Hermione's wand, and they all worked, I even did them nonverbally! I was so excited that I could barely stand it! Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny spent a few hours explaining how I would be sorted, and that I wasn't aloud to tell anyone except my parents, because at times like this, we couldn't risk our secret getting revealed. This came as no shock to me, I knew it already. What I still didn't get is how J.K. Rowling knew about the Wizarding World.

Harry and Ron left early the next morning to go do some research on a few things having to do with Voldemort's Horcruxes, and us girls went to Diagon Alley to get my things for school. I got a wand, and my robes, and blah blah blah, the usual things needed for school, books, cauldrons, and potions ingredients. While we were there, we started talking about what happened the night of Dumbledore's death, and somehow, Draco got brought up. We decided that the best way to keep Harry and Ron from going after him was to get him o trust one of us, and get him on our side. I was the one that suggested that we make him think that one of us fancied him.

"It's foolproof really, I mean, all we have to do is get him to like one of us, and then he'll tell us anything we want, maybe even show us his mark. Then, we can report it to the other two, but whatever we do, we _can't_ tell the guys, because they'd not only kill him, they'd never speak to us again." Ginny went back to Flourish and Blott's, because she forgot about a book she wanted to buy. Hermione and I sat down at a table across from Fred and George's joke shop to wait, and for the first time since I had mentioned the plan, Hermione spoke up.

"The only problem is, Draco hates us. Think about it, you and I are both muggle-born, and he can't stand Ginny, because he thinks that her family are 'blood traitors', so there's no way that it would work. But don't get me wrong, it was a very good idea, it just wouldn't work."

"Oh yes it will. He knows that you're muggle-born, and there's really nothing we can do about him hating Ginny, but he doesn't know about me being muggle-born. All I have to do is tell him that I was forced to live with them, because my parents had to go away on very important business. I can even convince him that I want nothing more than to be in Slytherin. I'm telling you, it _will_ work! I just don't know what I'll do if he asks me about you guys. There's Ginny! Hurry, we've got to tell you something." We told Ginny everything that I had just said, and she agreed that it would work if it were me, because he didn't know me. Then, Fred spotted us, and we were forced to visit the shop.

I couldn't believe my eyes when we entered the joke shop. There were so many people in there, and Fred and George were so nice! They even gave me a bunch of free stuff, including a bright blue Pygmy Puff. I didn't have anywhere to put all of the things that they had given me, so they offered to keep all of our things in the back of the shop until we were ready to go home.

After carefully placing our items in areas of the storage room that weren't packed with products that weren't quite up to standards yet, and that could possibly harm our things, we left the shop, and headed to Madam Malkin's to buy my robes. On our way out, Crabbe and Goyle were going into the shop, looking rather lost without Draco to guide them. We picked up the rest of our purchases at the joke shop, and returned to my house to prepare our plan.


	4. Falling for the enemy

CHAPTER FOUR 

We agreed on how to get Draco there, and how to keep Harry away. Ginny would send some of hers and Ron's things back to the Burrow, and the four of them would go back to get them that night, then, I would get use a summoning charm to get Draco to my house that night, and hopefully get him to show me the Dark Mark on his arm, just to confirm that really was working for Voldemort, and then get him to ask me out, so we could get him to tell me more. I was so excited that I could help out already, but in my heart, I knew that I was doing it for the wrong reasons. But how could I tell them? If I did, they wouldn't let me carry out the plan, but if I didn't, I would already be betraying them.

Around 9:30 that night, the four of them left for The Burrow, Hermione giving me a look that told me to be careful, and as soon as I was sure that they were gone, I summoned for him.

"_Accio Draco Malfoy!"_ We hadn't been sure if a simple summoning charm would work, but that was all I could do, so we hoped it would. A few seconds later, there was a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, Draco was standing in front of me, looking terribly confused. He looked around the room, and his eyes fell on me.

"Who are you? What am I doing here? This is a _muggle_ house, isn't it? GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I was trying very hard not to flip out, and believe me, it was extremely hard, because however handsome he looked in the movies, was multiplied by ten when you see him in person. But I had a job to do, so before I let my feelings take control, I had to get him to show me his mark.

"Umm, I'm really sorry about that, but I didn't know any other way to get you to come here, and it's very important that I talk to you. My name is Beth, just so you know. You see, I was just informed yesterday that the Ministry of Magic never informed me that I'm a witch, and now, I'm going to be attending Hogwarts this year, and I was hoping that you could help me out. The mud-blood Granger, the blood traitor Weasleys, and "The Boy Who Lived" Potter came yesterday to inform me that I'm a witch, and my parents forced me to allow them to stay here, but luckily, they had errands to run, and I don't want to socialize with them at school. I was hoping that you could help me get in Slytherin. I really admire everything that you've done, which is why I called you here."

"Wow, I feel really sorry that you have to put up with those horrible people staying here, but aren't _you_ a mud-blood as well? I mean, your parents are muggles, aren't they?" I explained what Draco believed was the real story, knowing in my mind that I was possibly going to lose him when he found out I was lying, but I had to do it. Evidently, he believed me, because by the time I was finished, I was putting on a very good show, even crying (though he thought I was crying about the story I was telling him, but I was crying for a whole other reason.), and he hugged me, telling me that he would help me out, and that things weren't that bad.

We talked for about three hours, and I almost forgot what I was supposed to do. But, just as I was about to ask Draco if he would show me the Dark Mark on his arm, I heard Harry's voice outside, and told Draco that he'd have to come back, because I didn't want Harry to try to start something, and he left. Almost instantly, Hermione and Ginny dragged me into my room and locked the door. What was I going to tell them? I hadn't found out _anything_! But I had to tell them something, so I decided to tell them exactly what happened, and that he was coming back the next day.

"What do you _mean_ you didn't have enough _time_ to ask him? We gave you three and a half _hours_, and all you managed to find out is that he thinks you're _pretty_!" wow, I'd never have thought that Ginny could get so mad!

"Listen, I'm sorry. But if I'd just said 'Hey, is it true that you have the Dark Mark?' he would have left without ever telling me anything! And he's coming back, I'll get him to show me then. Chill!"

"Beth's right Ginny, I mean, he wouldn't have just shown her without getting to know her at all! Be reasonable, she's still fairly new at this. We'll just take the guys out somewhere tomorrow night so she can have some time alone with Draco."

"Thank you Hermione."

I know that some of this stuff probably isn't something that could happen in the HP books, but I wanted to be original, because a lot of the stories on here are so much like the books, and I wanted to be different


	5. seeing the mark

CHAPTER FIVE 

**DISCLAIMER:** hpobsessor10 does not own Harry Potter or anything related to Harry Potter and its other characters, and sadly, she never will.

"Well…how'd it go Beth?" Hermione asked me anxiously, as her and Ginny came back into my room late the next night. They could tell by the look on my face, that I'd succeeded.

**FLASHBACK**

"Well well! Look who came back to see me! I must admit, I doubted whether you'd come back Draco."

" I _told_ you that I'd be back, didn't I? Honestly, I'm shocked! No one has _ever_ doubted a Malfoy before." Draco smirked his trademark smirk as he said this, his voice _clearly_ full of sarcasm.

"There's always a first time for everything Draco. And if you want to be with me, then you'll have to get used to that."

"And if I don't get used to it?" he said, smirking again. It was all I could do not to laugh.

"If you don't get used to it then I guess you don't want to be with me. It's your choice really. Now, what was it that you wanted to show me?"

Draco looked nervous for the first time all night. I had an idea what he was about to show me, but I couldn't figure out why it would make him nervous. He took my hand, and sat me down on the couch, and paced a few times before sitting down himself.

"Beth, I really like you, I do. And I want you to be my girlfriend, but I'm not sure what you'll think when you see this. I'm ashamed of it, and I would do _anything_ to have it removed. I just wanted you to know that." As he said that, he began rolling up the left sleeve of his shiny black robes. I could see a black line on his arm, and as his sleeve went up, I could see that it was, indeed, the Dark Mark.

"Oh Draco! You think that _this_ will make me not want to be your girlfriend? I may have just found out that I'm a witch, but I'm not stupid. I know what that is, and if you really don't want it, then that's all that matters to me. I'm sure that we can find a way to have it removed, and if we can't, then we'll just learn to live with it."

After I finished, Draco pulled me towards him, and we kissed,

**END FLASHBACK**

I told Hermione and Ginny everything that had happened, even that we kissed, and wasn't surprised at their gasps of horror when I told them. I could tell that they had mental images of the kiss, and that they probably thought it was a sin to kiss Draco Malfoy, but what did they know? They hadn't been there, they hadn't done it….

"So, are you happy that you never have to see the evil little cockroach again, not to mention pretend to _fancy_ him? I mean, I don't know how you handled it really, I'd have been sick if it were me, but-"

"Ginny, did you hear me? He thinks I'm his girlfriend. He'll be coming back again. Where are you going? Ginny, come back!" Ginny had stormed off, and I could tell that she was furious.

"How _could_ you? As much as he's put us through, serving You-Know-Who, and you're actually _dating _the pig? I can't believe you!"

"Wait! It's not like that Ginny! I'm doing this because it's what we agreed on in order to help Harry. _You_ agreed on it as well, and now you're getting mad because I-"

"Save it Beth. She'll calm down later, it's got nothing to do with you, she's been this way since Harry broke up with her at Dumbledore's funeral. And besides, you're a _horrible_ liar. I can tell that you have feelings for Draco that go far beyond our plan, whether you want to admit it or not. I just want you to know, I'm okay with it. He may have done some terrible things to us in the past, but it sounds like he's changing. And besides that, you never said that _we_ have to like him."

That's one of the reasons that Hermione was such a good friend. She didn't care that I was dating their rival, because I was happy. And it turned out that Ginny had reacted the same way when Hermione was dating Ron.

"Yeah, she got all defensive and stuff. Kept saying that 'Ron was her brother', and that 'I didn't deserve him'. She wouldn't speak to us for the three weeks we dated, and _she_ was the reason we broke up. It's only a temporary break up though, just until she can get over Harry, which _obviously_ isn't happening yet. But she told me later why she had acted that way, and I guess I understand."

So, if what she had said were true (and it was), then Ginny wouldn't speak to me again until I broke up with Draco. Oh well, her loss.

"She has a point you though. I mean, the stupid git has caused Harry to get into loads of trouble, and we've already got enough to deal with, without him here to spy on us, which you know he will. And-"

"Watch it, Ron. I know you hate him, but he's _still_ my boyfriend. You don't have to like him, but that doesn't mean that I'll tolerate you talking about him, _at all._"

It was not my idea to tell Ron, but Hermione said that he deserved to know why his sister was angry. That's why, when he got up to leave, I made sure _she_ told him the rules, _again._

"Remember, you _cannot_ tell Harry about Beth and Draco, not yet anyways. Not a word, understand?"

"Yes Hermione, I _know_." And with that, he left.

I know it was kind of long, but this was a really important chapter, and probably the most fun for me to write. Do you like Ginny's newfound attitude? There's gonna be loads more of it in the coming chapters, as well as some tension between her and Harry, but I don't want to give away too much. wink wink so please review this, and tell me what you think.


	6. talking to harry

CHAPTER SIX 

**DISCLAIMER:** though she's completely obsessed with them, hpobsessor10 does not own Harry Potter or any other Harry Potter characters or themes. So as others have said, don't sue…cuz you'll just be wasting your time.

Three days after the incident with Ginny, she still wasn't speaking to me, and rarely said anything to Hermione for supporting us. It was really hard to keep my relationship from Harry, because he was starting to ask why Ginny was upset. It was also difficult to keep lying to Draco about my friends, and pretending to hate them when he was around. I really felt like I had a huge weight on my shoulders that I couldn't take off. And, to make things worse, my muggle friends were starting to ask me why I couldn't hang out with them as much. I felt horrible about all of these things, and I kept piling lie upon lie every day. But I didn't know how I could tell anyone the truth without them hating me, and since me being a witch was a secret, I would _have_ to continue to lie to my muggle friends.

I decided to start by asking Hermione what I should do. I knew that I had to tell Draco about them, and I had to tell Harry and Ginny about Draco. But I didn't know how to go about doing that. That's why I needed help from Hermione.

"I really don't know what to do Mione…if I tell Draco that I've been lying about being muggle-born, and that I really _am_ friends with you, Ron, Ginny, and Harry, then I'm afraid he'll break up with me. And if I tell Harry that I'm dating Draco, he might go after him. Oh _help me_! This is so hard! I mean, I love Draco, but my friends mean so much to me, and if I mess this up, then-"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down Beth! You'll get through this. If Draco really loves you, then he'll understand why you were afraid of telling him about us because you really wanted him to like you. Then tell him that you got your confidence back when he showed you his Dark Mark. Ask him if he can be civil around us for your sake. And leave Harry to me. I don't want him exploding on you, because if _you_ tell him, I know he will."

"Thanks so much Hermione! I'll tell him tomorrow."

THE NEXT DAY

"Draco, I need to tell you something. I didn't tell you at first because I was afraid that you wouldn't like me, but when you showed me your Dark Mark, I realized that if you really love someone, and they love you too, then it doesn't matter who you are, or who your friends are, because if the other person really loves you, then they won't care about those things. I learned that, and I hope that you understand whatI'm about to tell you,the same way I understood you. And I know that you'llcompletely hate me after this, but I feel like I need to-"

"Beth, I think I know what you're talking about. Let me just say, I always knew that you were muggle-born, and that you are friends with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. I was just waiting for you to get the courage to tell me yourself. But don't you _ever_ think that I would love you less because of your parents or friends. I love you for _you_, and nothing else."

"I love you too Draco. And I'm so glad that you understand me."

Ok, there wasn't really a point to this chapter; I just needed to write it so I can get on with the story. Plus, it shows a whole different side of Draco, one that we all know is in there somewhere


	7. the present only he could give

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hermione told Harry about Draco and I, and to her (and my) surprise, he was ok with it. He said that Ron had told him the day that Ginny had gotten mad at us, so he wasn't really shocked to find out (again). I was completely relieved that he didn't care that I was dating his _sworn enemy_. But, there was a downside to this, and I sort of expected it.

"I hope you don't expect me to become best chums with _him_. I'm alright with you dating him, but I still don't trust him as far as I can throw him."

"Or bounce him. Ah, I'll never forget it…Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret…boy, those were the good old days. Oh, if I could just see that again, I'd-"

"Shove it, _Ronald_. That was a very long time ago, and I don't appreciate you talking about my boyfriend as if he's some circus freak, even though I think he'd make an adorable little ferret, but that's beside the point. And Harry, no, I don't expect you to become _instant_ friends with Draco, but yes, eventually, I hope that you two can put the past behind and become friends, or at least _get along_… for _my_ sake."

"Well, I suppose that I can _try_ to be civil. But if he starts anything, it's on! Have any of you seen Ginny? She's been acting strange towards me for a while now, and I want to ask her what's going on. Oh there she is! I'm going out to the garden to talk to her. What time will Mal- sorry, _Draco_ be here?"

"Harry, it's alright if you want to call him Malfoy behind his back, but to his face, his name is Draco, ok? And he'll be here in about an hour, and dinner is at six. That will give us some time to talk, and _if necessary_, calm you down before we eat. Now, if you'll excuse us, Hermione and I have to go get ready. And I need you to tell Ginny to come see me, please. I have to talk to her." And with that, Hermione and I went to my room to get ready, and Harry headed out to the garden to talk to Ginny, leaving Ron alone for about five minutes, when he too went to his room to get ready for dinner.

Not long after that, Ginny came into the room. She looked extremely sad, and just stood in the door for a few minutes in silence, before I spoke.

"Um, you don't have to stand there, you can sit down on the bed or something. And uh, I need to talk to you, if you don't mind. Hermione, could we have a minute? Go see if Harry and Ron need anything. Thanks." Ok, so here I was, I knew that I needed to clear things up with Ginny, but what to say? I didn't want to make her mad at me, but I also wanted to tell her off for being so rude. Thankfully, she was the first to talk.

"Beth, I'm sorry for the way I reacted. I'm sure Hermione told you about what I did when her and Ron were dating, and I feel horrible because I was the reason that they broke up. It's just, I've been having some difficulties with my friends getting into relationships, because I feel like I should be able to enjoy it with them. Who knew that a break up would have such an impact on me? I've not been the same since Harry and I, and I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry.

It had nothing to do with you at all, I just, well, I don't really know. I guess it was jealousy. Anyways, Harry told me that Draco is coming over for dinner? Isn't that a bit dangerous, given the circumstances?" Ginny smirked as she said that, clearly trying to be funny. I could tell that she was back to normal.

"No, I don't. They both (Harry and Draco) agreed to be civil around each other, and I'm looking forward to having you all in the same place, and finally being able to talk to _all_ of you at the same time. You should probably get ready…and wear something nice, because tonight is a night of romance."

"What do you mean?"

"_Beth, Draco's here. Come on!_"

"You'll see" and I walked out, leaving Ginny in my room to think, and get ready.

I headed down the stairs, very nervous of what I'd find. When I entered the living room, I saw Hermione, Ron, and Harry all sitting on the couch, and on the love seat, was a very handsome Draco. He was wearing black velvet dress robes, with a green shirt and silver tie underneath, that matched his eyes perfectly. He stood up, and as he took my hand, he put a silver locket around my neck. It had a beautiful green emerald on it, and inside it was a simple message: _I will love you forever. Love, Draco._ I looked at him, and started to cry. He hugged me, and I heard the faintest 'aww' from Hermione.

"I mean it. _Forever_. No matter what, I will love you. And I'm so glad that you invited me here tonight. Do you realize that it's our one-month anniversary? Yes, a month ago today, I asked you to be my girlfriend." Was what Draco whispered in my ear as we hugged. I was still crying as Harry, Ron, and Hermione went into the kitchen to set the table.

"Oh Draco! I love it! And you! But, I didn't get you a gift, I didn't really expect anything, and honestly, didn't know we would be celebrating that we've been dating for a month. I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright. I don't want anything, and actually, I just decided that I would get you this because you've helped me change my life in a way that I didn't think I could. I'm so grateful for that, and I knew that I had to do something to show you my appreciation." Just as he finished, Ginny walked down the stairs in a beautiful baby blue dress, with her red hair pinned in loose curls on her head, and a diamond clip to top it off. Harry reentered the room to announce dinner, and his eyes fell upon her with a look that I had never seen before. I could tell that the night was going to be perfect…

Ahh, romantic, right? I know, I know. Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out what Beth meant by 'a night of romance', and to see what happens at dinner. Please review! And constructive criticism is nice as well. I promise, the story will speed up soon, but right now, their getting through the rest of the summer, then the action starts!


	8. the dance

A/N: i want to thank all of you for the reviews that you gave, and i'm trying to add more detail. the song that is in this chapter is one of my favorite songs. it's by Rascal Flatts, and it's called Bless The Broken Road. i think it goes well with the story. also, i'm sooo sorry that this chapter is so long. plesase review!

**DISCLAIMER: hpobsessor10 doesn't own any Harry potter characters, and you better believe this, because if she did, she wouldn't be wasting her time writing fanfic like this! And she _obviously_ doesn't own the group Rascal Flatts, though she wishes she did, because then she wouldn't have to use their songs in fanfics.**

He continued to look at Ginny as though she was an angel standing right there in front of him, and didn't hear me when I said to him 'Harry, she did this for you.' After about a minute of just staring at her, Harry walked forward and took her hand to lead Ginny into the Dining Room for dinner. She was smiling at me as if to say, 'thank you'. So far, things were working just the way I wanted them to. As we entered the Dining Room, I thought I saw Hermione's hand quickly move to her lap. She was so obviously trying to have a moment with Ron, and I felt bad for interrupting them.

We sat down at the table and could barely see over all the food that was spread on it. I was amazed at how good food prepared by magic could look, and _smell_ for that matter! I looked at Hermione, who was sitting next to me, with Ron at the end of the table, then Ginny, and Harry on the side, and Draco on the other end, close enough that we could still hold hands, and I smirked at Hermione.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were holding hands with Ron before we came in. I thought that you two were broken up? But not that I'm complaining or anything, because that's what tonight is all about. Romance. And best of all, I think that Harry is starting to rethink his decision about his relationship with Ginny. You should have seen the way he looked at her when she came downstairs! He was so awestruck, I knew this would work!" and I pointed to the decorations around the room quickly so no one would ask questions if the saw me.

"Yes, I agree. It is splendid, but I don't think that he'll want to start dating her again. He's acted this way before, but it hasn't lasted, though I wish it would. They were so happy together last year, and now, well now it's like none of that ever happened. Harry is so wrapped up in finding Voldemort and getting revenge for Dumbledore's death, that he doesn't seem to have time for her anymore. And Ron and I are just on a break. That doesn't mean that we split up, remember? We only did it temporarily, and for Ginny. If for some miraculous reason, she and Harry got back together, so would we. But I'm not waiting forever, especially if Fleur's sister, Gabrielle, comes in for the wedding. I don't want him to forget that we're still sort of together. But I don't want tonight to be about us. It's a night for you and Draco, because you want him to get along with all of us. And might I add, it seems that he's doing a pretty good job at it so far."

"You know, it's very impolite to whisper. Especially when we are sitting here, waiting to start dinner." Ginny had obviously gotten annoyed with waiting for us to finish our conversation, and I had a lot more to say to Hermione, but I didn't want anyone to hear us, so I decided to wait until everyone else was asleep later that night. I was just about to thank them all for having dinner with me that night, when Draco stood up, and cleared his throat, as though to make a toast.

"I want to thank all of you for being so polite to me tonight. I honestly didn't think that I could ever be in the same room as you for longer than an hour, especially after what happened at the end of last year, but yet here I am, having dinner with the girl I love, and her friends. I honestly can't thank you enough for taking care of my girl while I'm not around. And if anything _ever_ happens to her, I am making you _totally responsible_ for her safety, Potter. I'm _kidding_! But I do want you to keep her safe for me, and Ginny, next year at school; I want you to help her if she still needs it. Now, shall we eat?" Draco sat down and we all started piling food on our plates as though we hadn't eaten in days.

There was so much food, but we managed to eat almost all of it. We had chicken, corn, rolls, potato soup (Hermione's specialty), and of course, butter beer. We also had a wonderful salad and dressing, that Draco's mother had given him the recipe to. It was a Russian dressing, and tasted much like Thousand Island dressing, which only I was familiar with, because it was a muggle dressing. Once we finished the main course, Hermione flicked her wand, and all of the dirty dishes and the remains of food disappeared. With another flick, deserts filled the table, along with fresh dishes. There was pumpkin pie, chocolate mousse, and many different kinds of pudding, sorbet, and whipped topping for all of it.

We ate our deserts and talked about school, and Ginny told jokes about Ron's many encounters with spiders. After we were done with desert, Hermione cleared our plates once again, and we all moved to the living room, which had somehow been transformed into something that resembled a ballroom. There was a disco ball hanging where the ceiling fan had once been, and where our big screen television was, there was now a large banner that said: "Congratulations Beth, on finding the perfect man!" in flashing neon lights. All of a sudden, one of my favorite muggle songs began playing out of nowhere, and Draco took my hand, and we began dancing. I don't know why, but I started singing along.

"_I set out on a narrow way, many years ago. Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road. But I got lost a time or two, wiped my brow and kept pushing through. I couldn't see how every sign, pointed straight to you."_

As the song continued to play, I noticed that Ron and Hermione had begun dancing as well, and before long, Harry and Ginny joined us also. I smiled, and kept singing.

_"Every long lost dream, lead me to where you are, others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars. Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms. This much I know is true. That God blessed the broken road that lead me straight to you"._

Somehow, Draco knew the words, and he began to sing the second verse to me. All I could do was cry.

_"I think about the years I spent, just passing through. I'd like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you. But you just smile and take my hand, you've been there, you understand. It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true."_

At this point, we both were singing, and I was crying even harder.

_"Every long lost dream, lead me to where you are, others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars. Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms. This much I know is true. That God blessed the broken road that lead me straight to you.  
__And now I'm just rolling home, into my lover's arms…this much I know is true. That God blessed the broken road that lead me straight to you."_

I was so happy; I didn't know what to say when the song ended. But I didn't need to, because when I looked over, Ginny and Hermione were both crying. It was apparent that my plan had worked. We just sat around the rest of the time, until Draco had to leave. It was definitely a breakthrough in all of our relationships, because we got to spend some quality time with the one we loved. When he left, Harry and Ron told us girls that we could have the rest of the night alone, because they were going to spend the night at the Burrow.

I thought that things were perfect, but when Hermione and I went into my room, I heard Ginny yelling. We walked into the hallway, where we found Ron, listening with his extendable ears, and looking very worried. As we got closer, we found out why he looked that way. I couldn't believe that Harry and Ginny were actually arguing again, because they seemed to be having such a good time at dinner.

"You always do this to me Harry! Why do you do it? You act like you want to get back together, but yet when we get close, you always run away, and you drag my brother with you! He's getting close to Hermione, and you're taking him away all the time, so it's hard for them to spend time together! I'm sick of your crap Harry! I wish you would just make up your mind! Do you want to be with me or not? Because there are plenty of other guys that do, and if you're waiting until you kill Voldemort, then I'm sorry, but you'll not have a chance with me! Who knows when or _if_ for that matter, you'll get to fight him! So you need to choose! Love, or, as you would call it "fate", because I'm not going to wait for you if you choose fate. Think about that while you're gone!" Ginny turned, and stormed into the bathroom, without even giving Harry time to speak. As she walked by, I could see that the mascara that she was wearing was running down her cheeks, and her hair was no longer pinned up like it had been, instead, it was falling down and looked as though she had just walked through a windstorm.

Just then, I got a strange feeling, and before I knew it, I was in a dark room. Then, I could hear Harry's voice.

"Ugh! Why can't she understand? I want to be with her, but I don't want her to be put in danger. If she would just wait for me, we could be together! But I don't know how to make her understand!" Suddenly, I was back inthe hallway, almost lying on the floor, being held up by a very frightened looking Ron. When I looked over, I saw Harry shaking his head. I got up and walked over to him.

"Harry, you need to tell her how you feel. You've never explained it to her, and if you do, then that's how she'll understand. That's the only thing I know to tell you. But honestly, a girl can't just wait for her man to risk his life. She's going to have to move on." Harry looked at me with a confused expression, and it was a few seconds before he could speak.

"How…how did you know that? You read my mind didn't you? Well, thanks for the advice, but try not to do that again, it kind of hurts…" it was my turn to be confused. I was sure that Harry had said those things aloud, but what if he hadn't? Did that mean I was a mind reader? Or what was it they called them…

"But…but I thought that you said those things. You didn't? Are you sure, because I could hear your voice, it was so real!"

"Beth! Do you know what this means? Somehow, without even trying, you're a Legilimens! I wonder how uncommon that is! We'll have to go to the library tomorrow or contact McGonnagal or something! See Harry, I told you that you should have practiced Occlumency when you had the chance…but NO! Well, that's what you get then! But this is so awesome!" Hermione had run forward and was so excited that she could barely stand it. But what did this mean for me? Did it mean that I would experience unwanted thoughts of other people at random times, just like this? And what would it do to my relationship with Draco. I needed to lie down…


End file.
